Sheena Fleet

Senior Physiotherapist, Waikato District Health Board, Waikato Hospital, Pembroke Street, Hamilton, 3204, NZ. Sheena.Fleet@waikatodhb.health.nz

Burn injury results in major pathophysiological changes in the body, which have a detrimental effect on the physical functioning and aerobic capacity of the survivor (Disseldorp et al. 2011). Physiotherapy intervention addresses many complex aspects of recovery and appropriate exercise prescription is a key intervention in this instance (Al-Mousawi et al. 2010). The purpose of this poster is to highlight how pathophysiological changes affect aerobic capacity and the role of exercise to improve strength and aerobic outcomes of a burns survivor.

The case follows a 28 year old male who sustained an 18% total body surface area burn from a bonfire explosion. Burned areas involved the face, neck, chest, arms and thighs with a significant inhalation injury.

Key Words

Physiotherapy, cardiovascular fitness, strength, lean muscle mass, rehabilitation, aerobic capacity

References

1. Disseldorp, L. M., Nieuwenhuis, M. K., Van Baar, M. E., & Mouton, L. J. (2011). Physical fitness in people after burn injury: A Systematic Review. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 92(9), 1501-1510.
2. Hart, D. W., Wolf, S. E., Mlcak, R., Chinkes, D. L., Ramzy, P. I., Obeng, M. K., … Herndon, D. N. (2000). Persistence of muscle catabolism after severe burn. Surgery, 128(2), 312-319.
3. Cree, M. G., Fram, R. Y., Herndon, D. N., Qian, T., Angel, C., Green, J. M., … Wolfe, R. R. (2008). Human mitochondrial oxidative capacity is acutely impaired after burn trauma. American Journal of Surgery, 196(2), 234-239.
4. Herndon, D. N., & Tompkins, R. G. (2004). Support of the metabolic response to burn injury. The Lancet, 363(9424), 1895-1902.
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6. Porter, C., Herndon, D. N., Sidossis, L. S., & Børsheim, E. (2013). The impact of severe burns on skeletal muscle mitochondrial function. Burns, 39(6), 1039.
7. Grisbrook, T. L., Elliott, C. M., Edgar, D. W., Wallman, K. E., Wood, F. M., & Reid, S. L. (2013). Burn-injured adults with long term functional impairments demonstrate the same response to resistance training as uninjured controls. Burns, 39(4), 680-686.
8. Al-Mousawi, A. M., Williams, F. N., Mlcak, R. P., Jeschke, M. G., Herndon, D. N., & Suman, O. E. (2010). Effects of exercise training on resting energy expenditure and lean mass during paediatric burn rehabilitation. Journal of Burn Care & Research 31(3), 400-408.
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10. Garber, C. E., Blissmer, B., Deschenes, M. R., Franklin, B. A., Lamonte, M. J., Lee, I. M., … Swain, D. P. (2011). Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory, Musculoskeletal, and Neuromotor Fitness in Apparently Healthy Adults: Guidance for Prescribing Exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(7), 1334-1359.

Biography

I am a Physiotherapist working at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton, NZ.  I trained in Glasgow, Scotland and moved to New Zealand in 2007.  I have been specialising in burn rehabilitation on our specialist surgery wards for the last 8 years and very much enjoy working in this area. I also work in a busy musculoskeletal outpatients physiotherapy service and enjoy that I am able to assist my patients throughout their long journey from burn injury to full rehabilitation.